Ultra-performance liquid chromatographic determination of manufacturing intermediates and subsidiary colors in D&C Red No. 34 and its lakes.

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method was developed to determine the manufacturing intermediates and subsidiary colors in the monosulfo monoazo color additive D&C Red No. 34 and its lakes. This method is currently used for batch certification of the color additives by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure that each lot meets published specifications for coloring drugs and cosmetics. The new UPLC method has replaced an HPLC method for determining the intermediates and a TLC method for determining the subsidiary colors. The intermediates are 2-amino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (Tobias acid) and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthalenecarboxylic acid (3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid). Subsidiary colors are positional isomers of the major dye component or related compounds containing lower numbers of substituent groups. The analytes are identified by comparison of their UPLC retention times and UV or visible absorption spectra with those of standards. Validation studies showed that peak area calibrations for the analytes were generally linear (R > 0.999), and recoveries were 98-103%. The LODs were 0.002-0.02%, and the RSDs at the specification levels were 0.7-2.2%. Survey analyses of 12 samples of certified D&C Red No. 34 straight colors and lakes from six domestic and foreign manufacturers yielded results for the intermediates by UPLC and HPLC that were consistent within experimental error. The UPLC analyses yielded results for the subsidiary colors that were consistently lower than results previously obtained by TLC, which we attribute to limitations of the TLC method. The new UPLC method provides sharper peaks, better peak separation, and faster analysis times than the formerly used HPLC method and is more accurate, much faster, and much less labor-intensive than the formerly used TLC method.